It is, of course, generally known to repair railcars in the railcar industry. Typically, railcars may be damaged during use for a number of reasons, including, for example, wear-and-tear, or damage that may occur from weather, negligence, vandals, or any other damage that may occur during the use of the railcar. Moreover, a railcar may be damaged during construction, or otherwise constructed incorrectly.
Damage that may occur to a railcar may include dents, scratches, and/or gouges that may occur to the walls of the railcar. Moreover, damage may occur internally to the railcar, for example to a lining that may have been coated to a railcar to help contain a chemical or other commodity that may be stored and/or transported within the railcar. Moreover, damage may occur to seams or valves that may release commodity thereby endangering people and/or the surrounding environment. In addition, damage may occur to the trucks, wheels, hitches, electrical systems, brakes, doors, or any other mechanism on the railcar that may be apparent to one having ordinary skill in the art.
There are a plurality of railcar repair shops that may be utilized to repair the railcars that may have damage to them. However, each particular railcar repair shop may be specialized in handling a particular problem, or otherwise may not be able to handle the full spectrum of repair needs that railcars may require. Moreover, the railcar repair shops may be spread over long distances making it impractical or overly costly to ship the railcars to particular railcar repair shops in order to complete the repair of the railcar. Moreover, travelling railcar repair shops, or mobile repair units (MRUs) may be utilized to meet a railcar on a track or otherwise in storage so that the railcar may be repaired without moving the railcar to a railcar repair shop.
Further, it is difficult to determine whether a railcar falls within the “Home Rule One” standard of the railroad industry. “Home Rule One” generally refers to the railroad industry standard that requires that railcars be shipped back to a particular location (i.e. the railroad “pool” or lessee loading point) after the railcar has delivered its commodity. The railcar may be shipped back to the railroad pool by the transporter or a customer per industry car service rules. As noted, it is difficult to determine whether a particular railcar falls under the “Home Rule One” standard without researching the particular railcar, which may take both time and energy to accomplish.
Therefore, a need exists for a system and a method of determining railcar repair shops for a variety of repair needs. Moreover, a need exists for a system and a method that may select a repair shop, or a plurality of repair shops, based on input information such as, for example, the location of the railcar, the type of repair needed, and the type of railcar. Moreover, a need exists for a system and a method whereby a particular customer may have preferences input into the system so that the customer utilizes only pre-approved repair shops for the cars of the customer. In addition, a need exists for a system and a method that tracks railcars to determine whether the railcars fall under the “Home Rule One” standard of the railroad industry.